The invention relates to an x-ray tube according to the preamble of patent claim 1. X-ray tubes of this type are, for example, known from the publication (page 15) "Concerning The History of Medical X-Ray Tubes" by F. Prellwitz, Medical Technology Department of the Siemens Aktiengesellschaft, Erlangen, Germany, Order No. MR 71/1524, printed in the Federal Republic of Germany SD 06792.5.
In the case of the known tube, the tube housing and the shielding were at the same potential, so that a disruptive discharge through the glass tube envelope was largely prevented. However, an electrode interposed between the focus and the x-ray shield led to an impairment of the attainable X-ray beam. Further, it was disadvantageous here that a difficult and expensive glass technology was necessary, on the one hand, and that, given high tube performances and tube powers conventional today, the shielding, necessarily thermally largely insulated in the case of this method of construction, becomes impermissibly highly heated.